In March this year, Poland overtook Switzerland to become the 20th largest economy in the world.

Now, at current growth levels, Poland is on track to overtake the United Kingdom on GDP per capita.

After his huge win in Makerfield, Britain's presumptive next Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, must resist the soft left and learn lessons from Poland on economic growth.

Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, recently suggested that the gap with Britain could close within six years.

The fact that such comparisons are now being made says something remarkable about not just Poland but also the weaknesses of the UK economy.

Even the UK’s own Polish diaspora is now beginning to return to Poland in growing numbers, attracted by economic opportunities which they see as superior to those provided by the UK.

So, what explains Poland’s rise? And what lessons could the UK take from it? Firstly, Poland’s success begins, unsurprisingly, with the fall of Communism and the rejection of state-planned socialism.

Following communism’s fall in 1989, the country embraced a rapid transition to a market economy – often described as “shock therapy” – under the Balcerowicz Plan, named after then-Finance Minister Leszek Balcerowicz.

This period saw Poland embrace market liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation; introduce a competitive corporate tax system; and, of course, join the European Union and the Single Market in 2004.

These early years were painful, as they exposed the social costs of socialism.

But the long-term results of the Balcerowicz Plan paved the path for Poland’s current trajectory, earning Margaret Thatcher’s praise for the “bold and brilliant” Minister Balcerowicz in 1991.

Thanks to these reforms, productivity rose rapidly, inefficient state enterprises were replaced by private ownership, and labour shifted away from agriculture into more productive sectors.

EU accession in 2004 accelerated this process. While European funds helped modernise infrastructure, the most important effect came from access to the Single Market, which allowed Poland to become deeply integrated into European economic networks.

It certainly helped that Poland joined the EU at a time when the EU was still focused more on economic harmonisation rather than top-down regulatory intervention, as is unfortunately the case today.

This is why Polish policymakers should now leverage their growing economic clout and push Brussels to improve the EU’s competitiveness and strengthen the Single Market.

Nonetheless, Poland’s rise should be understood as an unequivocal free-market success story.

Secondly, and quite pertinently for the UK, immigration has been a critical part of Poland’s growth – but not without key qualifications.

Poland has, in fact, become a country of large-scale immigration, especially after the arrival of millions of Ukrainians following Russia’s attacks on Ukraine since 2014.

Crucially, Poland has integrated these newcomers with vastly more success than peer nations, as seen with the United Kingdom’s own post-Brexit immigration struggles.

Of course, it helps that Ukrainians are relatively similar to Poles, both culturally and linguistically.

However, crucially, Poland has avoided the policy pitfalls that other Western European countries have made, which opened up to migration while simultaneously creating disincentives to work.

A growing economy, a relatively open labour market, and a less generous welfare state – particularly for newcomers from Asia, Africa and Latin America – have helped integrate migrants into employment.

Participation in the labour market, in turn, supports integration, language acquisition, and everyday interaction with Poles.

Thus, Poland has remained open to the economic benefits of immigration while mitigating its economic and cultural risks.

This leaves us where we are today: Poland rapidly catching up to the UK. Ultimately, much of this success rests on openness for investments, trade and migration, relatively liberal economic policies, and the avoidance of major policy mistakes.

By contrast, Britain faces significant challenges, and the pace of convergence will partly depend on growth here.

Perhaps Poland’s rise will serve as a reminder that prosperity is underpinned by economic liberalism, dynamic labour market, productivity growth, and proper incentives to work.

If Poland does eventually catch up with the UK, it will certainly be a moment worth celebrating for us – especially if it reflects Poland’s own strength, rather than Britain’s decline.